Spotlight: Megatron
by sphinx01
Summary: Four moments in the life of the Decepticon leader, in response to the Transformer Flash Challenge on Ao3. Prompts and summaries are given inside.
1. The First Moment

_Prompt:_ The first moment  
 _Chapter summary:_ Megatron's first experiences after being onlined as a miner in a construction facility

* * *

 **The First Moment**

xxx

All his sensors came online at once, bombarding him with a maelstrom of unfamiliar data. Light, sounds, smells and sensations all came together in a blinding cacophony that his newly booted processor could barely handle. It left him reeling and disoriented, and something inside his chest plates stuttered and clenched in an emotion he could not yet define.

"Hey, you!"

A subroutine activated, labeling the sound as speech directed at him. His adjusting optics made out several mechanisms hurrying to and fro around him, their footsteps adding to the clanging and pounding noises that filled the air. But how could he determine which one had spoken?

A strong electromagnetic energy pressed against his sensors – _field_ , he recognized on instinct, and that field was howling with negative algorithms. _Anger_ , his struggling lingo files supplied.

"Move, you klutz!" someone snapped into his audio receptor. A hard impact on his backside sent him stumbling down a small ramp with his equilibrium sensors spinning. For a moment he flailed about helplessly, but by some small miracle he managed to stay on his feet.

A quick glance about revealed that he was now standing in front of a wide passage way exiting the great… _room? hall?_... he had just come from. A mechanism standing on the left side of the entrance pressed a tool into his hands, a kind of stick with an inlaid control panel on one end. To his right, a second mech stepped forward and grabbed his arm.

He cried out in shock as white-hot pain shot through his arm. He jerked back reflexively, his HUD exploding into red warning messages.

"Follow the passage to the next hall," the mech to his left droned listlessly. "You will receive further instruction there."

Flight instinct had him stagger forward into the dimly-lit hallway, vents cycling hard to dispel the sudden heat from his frame. A dull, throbbing sensation consumed his arm, and he glanced down to make out the cause of the agony.

There was a line of glyphs, burned right into his alloys and still smoking a little. The signs were small, but clearly visible. He tilted his arm to have a better look.

 _…_ _D-…1…6…_

"Hey. New miner?"

He yanked his head up. At the juncture before him stood a bulky construction model, thickly armored and with a protective mask covering their faceplates. They did not wait for an answer, just beckoned him with one hand.

"Come on, then. We have work to do."

 _A miner…?_

He pondered the tool in his hand. Was that why he was here? Was that his purpose, his function?

His data sets were incomplete, he realized. Extensive information gathering would be in order before he could reach a definite conclusion.

For now, though, he grabbed the tool tight, walked up to the other mech to look him into the optics, and spoke his first words.

"Let us begin."

 _*Fin*_

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 _Word count:_ 481  
 _Disclaimer:_ I own nothing, and I do not make any money with this.


	2. Can't Cross This River

_Prompt:_ Song "Humbling River" by Puscifer  
 _Chapter summary:_ "The sounds of the battle were drawing closer again; a nearby building evaporated in a deafening explosion, and the fusion cannon began to shake."

* * *

 **Can't Cross This River**

xxx

 _I've conquered country, crown, and throne  
Why can't I cross this river?_

"The Humbling River" by Puscifer

xxx

The Autobot skittered several paces across the floor, metal screeching over metal. For some astroseconds he struggled to get up again, but the feeble attempt remained fruitless, and he sank back with a groan, finally staying down where he belonged.

Panting through wide-open vents, Megatron assessed the situation. The Autobots were still putting up a decent fight, but Starscream and his Seekers had gained air superiority and were beginning to scatter the enemy forces all over the city area.

Retracting his blades, Megatron stepped forward to get a better look at his adversary. The Autobot had managed to prop himself up on one elbow, energon and sparks of electricity leaking from several deep wounds.

Megatron dropped to one knee and grabbed the other mech by the throat, fingers viciously clamping down onto one of the main fuel lines. The sound the other produces as he was pulled up was somewhere between a gagging and a moan, but Megatron didn't stop until their faceplates were almost close enough to touch.

"Your martial arts have improved," he said.

The Prime's optics flickered. "I will take that as a compliment," he whispered roughly.

Hindered by the facemask, Megatron couldn't see if the other was smiling, but he sensed a hint of amusement in Optimus' field, and tinged with bitterness as it was, it still irked the Pit out of him. His fusion cannon came to life with a _click-whirr_ , and the next moment he had the barrel pressed point-blank against the Prime's head.

"Too bad," he purred, "that it won't save you."

Optimus went limp in his grip. The initial spike of _stressfeardefiance_ in his field evened out almost immediately, replaced by a sad resignation interspersed with regret. He did not speak, nor did he try to defend himself.

Their frames pressed so close, Megatron sensed the gentle vibrations from the Prime's inner workings. Drafts of warm air graced his faceplates, and even through both their chest plates he could discern the spinning of a familiar spark.

 _Shoot, you fool!_

The red _'Fire_ ' button on his HUD blinked obnoxiously, but he kept staring into the blue optics beneath him. The sounds of the battle were drawing closer again; a nearby building evaporated in a deafening explosion, and the fusion cannon began to shake.

Consumed by a sudden, blinding rage, Megatron shoved the Prime back down, jumped to his feet, and then he shot shot shot until there was no charge left in his weapon systems.

The dust settled painfully slow, and when it finally did, Optimus peered up at him from amidst a field of smoking craters.

"Get out of my city, Prime," Megatron growled.

Optimus struggled to his feet. A long moment passed with them staring at each other, blue optics against red ones. Then Optimus turned and started to limp back into the fray.

The nearby wall cracked ominously under the impact of a black fist as Megatron's roar of anger rose up to the smoke-blackened night sky.

 _*Fin*_

* * *

 _Word count:_ 497  
 _Disclaimer:_ I own nothing, and I do not make any money with this.


	3. Bang Bang

_Author's note_ : This fits in with my "Project Synergy" series. If you want to read more about Synergy's adventures, please check out my profile.  
 _Prompt_ : Song "Bang Bang" by Nancy Sinatra  
 _Chapter summary_ : "You know that I have never sanctioned infanticide. But if you don't bring your progeny under control, I may reconsider that sentiment."

* * *

 **Bang Bang**

xxx

Megatron stretched languidly as the holographic 3D game board materialized in front of him. "You know," he told the ship's AI, "I feel like going easy on you tonight."

A melodic sound answered him. "Appreciated," she purred.

As ill luck would have it, his chance at a witty reply was thwarted by the shrill alarm sound suddenly going off at a ship-wide frequency.

"Weapon fire in Sector C-5," the computer reported, projection a highlighted map right onto Megatron's HUD.

He was the ranking officer in the vicinity – well, all the better! With a growl, Megatron marched out of his quarters, determined to get himself a piece of the miscreant taking out their trigger-happiness on _his_ flagship.

The old surveillance room was empty – except for the three small, blurry figures zig-zagging around in it. Two of them stayed firmly on the ground, but the third was hovering under the ceiling, firing tiny, arm-mounted laser guns while happily crying "Bang, bang!"

Scowling, Megatron transmitted his access codes to cease the alert, together with a testy comm. message to Soundwave and Thundercracker. Then, with battle-honed speed, he stepped into the room, grabbing one of the grounders by the scruff of their neck as they darted by while simultaneously using his other hand to pluck the little flyer out of the air.

The result was a choir of protesting howls and squeals which died down quickly as they realized whom they were up against.

"Synergy," Megatron growled. "Rumble. Frenzy." He leveled a stern glare at the cassette hiding underneath an out of order console. "Explain yourselves."

"Uh… hi, boss." Rumble waved sheepishly, dangling to and fro. "Uhm, you see, buzz boy here just figured out how to use his cannons, so we thought we'd help him train a bit?"

"We have a shooting range for that," Megatron said.

Frenzy, peeping out from under the console, snorted. "Yeah, right. Not gonna happen with Roadrunner and The Hooligan down there."

"Couldn't bring the little dragonfly close to _them_ , right?" Rumble concluded.

That was an… amazingly reasonable argument. Thoughtfully, Megatron regarded the little flyer in his grip. Synergy ducked his head under the inspection, tiny guns still smoking from overzealous use.

Megatron turned at the hiss of the opening door and found himself optic to optic with Thundercracker and Soundwave. Both stopped abruptly in their tracks when they found their path blocked, and Megatron wasted no time, pushing both mini-mechs into their baffled caretakers' arms.

"You know that I have never sanctioned infanticide," he said. "But if you don't bring your progeny under control, I may reconsider that sentiment."

Soundwave cocked his head, looking back and forth between his cassettes. "Full support; granted," he droned.

Megatron stoically dialed down his audio receptors against the voluble objection that followed. Simultaneously, he sent an order to his SIC to start devising a sparkling-friendly schedule for their shooting range. Until he reached a final decision on the infanticide question, there was a future warrior to be trained.

 _*Fin*_

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 _Word count_ : 497  
 _Disclaimer_ : I don't own anything, and I do not make any money with this.


	4. Devil in Pale Moonlight

_Prompt:_ "Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?" - The Joker  
 _Chapter summary:_ Megatron needs a little help with his new anti-gravs.

* * *

 **Devil in Pale Moonlight**

xxx

 _Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?_

The Joker, "Batman", 1998

xxx

Equipping himself with anti-gravs had been one of Megatron's better ideas. He just hadn't counted on that technology to be quite so _bitchy_.

Maneuvering in the air felt a bit like being over-energized on the ground: wobbly and dizzying. The Seeker model appearing out of nowhere with a crack and almost colliding with him didn't improve the situation either.

"Woah!" Skywarp rolled onto his side, avoiding the crash by barely a mechanometer, then he looped the loop and transformed right next to his leader.

"Hey, sorry." He grinned. "Didn't expect to stumble over a ground pounder."

Megatron struggled to stay airborne, humiliation burning hot in his spark. "Don't test my patience, Skywarp," he snapped.

Skywarp raised both hands placatingly, moonlight bouncing off his plating. "Alright, alright. I'll get outta your way." He gunned his engine, but then hesitated. "Uh, you may wanna try a lower setting on your gyros," he said, transmitting a quick data burst. "Like this one. Just a tip."

Megatron analyzed the transmission carefully. It seemed to be what it said, and to the Pit with it, he'd already lost most of his dignity tonight.

The effect was instantaneous. The dizziness vanished, and keeping his balance suddenly became a lot easier.

"Told ya," Skywarp triumphed.

Megatron looked him over pensively. Skywarp was a cretin and a major nuisance, but he _was_ a flyer.

"Indeed," he concurred. "Any other 'tips'?"

Skywarp thought for a moment. "There's this thing we do when trine-flying," he said. "Nothing fancy, more like a little warm-up. Wanna try?"

Megatron would go and smelt himself down before he copped out now. "No teleporting," he decreed.

Skywarp placed two fingers over his spark. "Seeker's honor!"

The warm-up turned out to be basically a game of tag. Still, Megatron noticed in dismay how his cooling fans kept trying to activate. Skywarp was unarguably the better flyer, and he was _fast_. But he was also, to Megatron's great astonishment, a competent teacher, encouraging him to attempt different speeds and moves, yet at the same time providing subtle assistance whenever he overestimated his fledgling abilities.

Eventually Megatron managed to get close enough to brush his fingers against one of Skywarp's pauldrons. The Seeker pouted playfully, chuckling as he floated to the ground. "Not bad for a ground pounder," he said once they both had landed safely.

Megatron growled in warning at the nickname, but Skywarp was clearly unrepentant. He stepped closer, right into Megatron's personal space.

"So," he purred, optics twinkling. "Caught yourself a little Seeker, you did. What're you gonna do with him now?"

He flicked his ailerons suggestively, and Megatron, after a moment of surprise, responded by meshing their fields together with equal blatancy as he closed his fingers over the leading edge of a wing. "I believe I can find a suitable usage for him," he purred back.

A ground pounder's honor on _that_.

 _*Fin*_

* * *

 _Word count:_ 479  
 _Disclaimer:_ I do not own The Transformers, and I do not make any money with this.


End file.
